BEIJING, CHINA - A former top television executive was jailed for seven years Monday for his role in causing a massive blaze at China's new state television complex when a fireworks display went awry, prosecutors said.

Xu Wei, the former director of the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters, was sentenced by a Beijing court over the February 2009 inferno, which left one firefighter dead, prosecutors said in a statement.

The fire, which took place during the Lunar New Year celebrations, also injured six people. The building, which housed television studios and a nearly finished Mandarin Oriental hotel, was gutted.

The inferno has been a public relations disaster for CCTV, a top propaganda arm of China's ruling Communist Party.

Twenty other defendants were sentenced Monday to between three years and six-and-a-half years in prison for their roles in the incident, the Beijing News said.

State media has previously put the cost of damages at 163 million yuan ($32.9 million).

'In his final court presentation, Xu Wei clearly acknowledged his guilt, the huge losses he caused to the state and the unhealthy image he brought to CCTV,' the prosecution report said.

The defendants - who were all charged with crimes related to dangerous materials - confessed their guilt in a three-day trial held in March.

A government probe found that 71 people were responsible for the fire and that 44 of them would face criminal charges, Xinhua news agency reported earlier. It was unclear when the other trials would take place.

The 159-metre (525-foot) hotel was next to the futuristic CCTV tower that had won fame as one of Beijing's most stunning buildings and become a striking symbol of China's newfound global power.

Both buildings were designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and had been due to open last year.